Students work with Culinary Olympic team

Catering and hospitality students and apprentices were given the opportunity of a lifetime when they joined the English Culinary Olympic team to cook a banquet for 240 people.

The 14 students from Cambridge Regional College were invited to support the top chefs delivering a feast at Churchill College – cooking up a fabulous menu which included smoked eel, seared scallops and beef fillet and oxtail.

The meal brought a tidal wave of compliments from diners at the charity ball and praise for the trainee chefs and front of house students who were chosen to take part in the dining extravaganza, a major event in the run-up to this year’s Culinary Olympics.

CRC lecturer Ian Sparke, who accompanied the students to the event and cooked alongside the top chefs, said it had been a fantastic experience for all of them.

“As a college we work very closely with employers and industry specialists, which offers real benefits for the students and some great work experience opportunities.

“It was a huge honour to be invited to take part in such a prestigious evening and work alongside some of the best competition chefs in the world,” he said.

“It was a wonderful opportunity and the students really appreciated the chance to gain hands-on experience at a very high level. They were outstanding and I was very proud of them all.”

Squad members and mentors of the British Culinary Federation English Senior team include Adam Smith of the Devonshire Arms Country House Hotel, Andrew Ditchfield and Matt Jones from the House of Commons, Rob Kennedy from the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, and Cambridge University chef Nathan Aldous from Emmanuel College.

The Culinary Olympics, held every four years, is one of the largest culinary events in the world. The 2016 competition will take place in Erfurt in Germany in October this year.